Powered lawn mowers are well-known. Such mowers usually comprise a wheeled deck or housing that contains a rotatable vegetation cutting element. This element may either be a rigid steel blade or a flexible mono-filament line. The cutting element, which is powered by any suitable prime mover, rotates in a substantially horizontal cutting plane. This action severs the grass particles at a pre-determined height above the ground dependent upon the height of the housing above the ground.
After the grass has been cut by the cutting element, the grass particles are normally entrained by an air flow generated in any suitable manner. This air flow sweeps the cut grass particles through the grass tunnel defined by the mower housing and out through a discharge port. Usually, some type of grass collecting means or receptacle is attached to the discharge port for catching the cut grass particles and preventing them from simply falling onto the lawn. This is desirable since many people do not wish to see the cut grass particles deposited on the lawn as they feel this is unsightly.
There are many types of different grass collecting receptacles which are known. Some of these simply comprise a flexible bag having an open front end which can be tied around the grass discharge chute and a rear end which is supported by a rod attached to the handle. Other receptacles comprise a combination of a rigid door that defines an inlet opening for the grass particles and a flexible bag which is attached to the door. After the bag is removed from the mower, the door can be pivoted to empty the bag.
One problem with the types of grass collecting receptacles just noted is the relatively small opening through which the grass is placed into the bag. This opening is also the same opening the operator must use to empty the bag. It can be relatively difficult and time consuming to empty the bag through such a small opening. The grass tends to clog in the opening requiring the operator to reach in with his hand and pull out the clogged portion. Accordingly, the use of a relatively small inlet opening in proportion to the volume of the bag is disadvantageous when trying to empty the bag.
There are certain types of grass collecting receptacles which exhibit a clamshell type of opening. Such receptacles usually have two rigid halves or containers which are pivotally connected together adjacent the inlet opening to the receptacle. A latch is provided on the rear side of these two portions to releasably clamp and hold the portions together.
After the grass is cut, the receptacle is removed from the mower housing. The latch is then released and the two halves open pivoting around the front axis adjacent the inlet opening. This dumps the grass out the rear of the receptacle. One clamshell type receptacle is marketed by the assignee of this invention for use on a riding mower, such as the type 832E, with the clamshell receptacle being known as the Easy-Empty.RTM. grass catcher (Model 59111). Other manufacturers market similar types of clamshell grass receptacles.
While the clamshell grass receptacles noted above dump the cut grass particles through an opening larger than that of the inlet opening, they all utilize two relatively rigid halves or portions. Thus, they do not have the lightness of a receptacle which incorporates a flexible bag. Moreover, some type of latching means is required in all these devices to hold the two portions together. The addition of such a latch of course increases the cost of manufacturing such a receptacle. Furthermore, since these receptacles all dump the grass particles to the rear, none of them utilize the original inlet opening for dumping. This opening, while relatively small, is entirely wasted in the grass dumping operation.